Chevy Chase

NBC Photo

The comedian: Chevy Chase The straight man: President Gerald Ford The collision: Chase's frequent pratfalls in character as then-current President Ford on the first season of "Saturday Night Live" went a long way toward damaging the president's national approval. At least that's how Ford saw it. He later wrote in his autobiography about how his election loss in 1976 was caused, in part, by Chase's buffoonish presidential satire.

The comedian: Chevy Chase The straight man: President Gerald Ford The collision: Chase's frequent pratfalls in character as then-current President Ford on the first season of "Saturday Night Live" went a long way toward damaging the president's national approval. At least that's how Ford saw it. He later wrote in his autobiography about how his election loss in 1976 was caused, in part, by Chase's buffoonish presidential satire. (NBC Photo)

The comedian: Chevy Chase The straight man: President Gerald Ford The collision: Chase's frequent pratfalls in character as then-current President Ford on the first season of "Saturday Night Live" went a long way toward damaging the president's national approval. At least that's how Ford saw it. He later wrote in his autobiography about how his election loss in 1976 was caused, in part, by Chase's buffoonish presidential satire.